Dietary Supplements

Question 1

what is a dietary supplement

Answer 1

a product taken by a mouth that contains a ‘dietary ingredient’ intended to supplement the diet

Question 2

supplements come in many forms

Answer 2

• enriched foods
• functional foods
• sports foods
• single or multiple nutrient/mineral foods

Question 3

reasons for using supplements

Answer 3

• to aid recovery from training
• for health
• to improve performance
• to prevent or treat an illness
• to compensate for a poor diet
• for financial gain (sponsorship) or because products are provided free of charge
• as a ‘just in case’ insurance policy
• because they know or believe that other athletes/competitors are using the supplement(s)

Question 4

is it worth it?

Answer 4

• costs:
  
  • financial
  • health
  • performance
  • drug test failure
• benefits:
  
  • performance
  • health
  • insurance policy
  • free samples

Question 5

anti-doping

Answer 5

anti-doping regulations were developed over ,any years to promote fairness in sport and to protect the heath of the athlete
- the offence lies in having a prohibited substance in a sample
- prevalence of positive doping test is typically 1-2% in elite athletes

Question 6

what are the risks of supplement use?

Answer 6

• contamination: poor quality control in manufacturing and storage
• absence or lower than declared levels of ‘actives’
• presence of undeclared doping agents
• harmful to health/performance

Question 7

contamination

Answer 7

supplements may contain undeclared prohibited substances, for example, due to poor manufacturing practices resulting in contamination of the raw ingredient or deliberate inclusion of ingredients not listed on the label (or labelled under a different name)

Question 8

absence or lower than declared levels of ‘actives’

Answer 8

often supplements may not contain the actual amount of ingredient stated on the label in the final product, and some do not contain any at all

Question 9

Ron Maughan’s rules of dietary supplements for athletes

Answer 9

• if it works, it’s probably banned
• if it’s not banned, then it probably doesn’t work
• there may be some exception

Question 10

recommendations

Answer 10

• supplements that may benefit some athletes in some situations include proteins powders, sports drinks and ergogenic acids (e.g. creatine, caffeine and buffering agents)
• supplement use requires individual assessment and advice by a qualified sports nutrition professional and/or qualified medical practitioner
• athletes should seek assurances regarding quality control of supplement manufacture to ensure freedom from contamination with toxic or prohibited substances
• athletes should not use supplements where the nutrient needs can be met by normal foods
• athletes should not use supplements where there is a risk of a positive doping test
• athletes using supplements should be alerted to possible warning signs of adverse effects
• supplements should NOT be used by young athletes (<18yr) except where medically indicated